Reply #59: Here's why I think Powell can prove he was out of the loop

[HamdenRice]

Powell has skillfully spun his way out of the category of war criminal and into the category of victim.

Almost as soon as he gave his infamous presentation at the UN, he had his allies begin leaking the story that he was trying to prevent misinformation from getting in and was forced to be the good soldier.

There is also the fact, reported in England, but not in the US, that Powell was the victim of the NSA wiretapping scandal. British papers reported the remarkable fact that Bolton used illegal NSA wiretaps of Powell's office to disrupt Powell's attempts at diplomacy. Finally, there is Powell right hand Richard Armitage's bizarre performance to Pakistani intelligence chief Lt. Gen. Mahmoud Ahmad in the wake of 9/11.

In other words, I agree that Powell is as guilty as the others. But I also think Powell has created or simply been subjected to lots and lots of spinable alibis.